Jonathan Yup, CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology, before I get more hassle for shortening things!) and all the Hippy dippies are still going strong in them there hills! I'm totally intrigued as to the word you have in mind, even misspronouncing it massively - I obviously don't have a smutty enough mind - too early in the morning! Cheers Deri
Glad to hear CAT is still going - I blame the drugs for my bad hearing at the time.
Had a look at you site - nice stuff with boats - Don't forget down here there are many small boatbuilders in Falmouth, Penzance making pleasure and fishing boats. Signs have to be in Spanish though :-) . If you ring up Cornwall County Council and get through to the business promtion section they will send you a list of the boat builders in the county. We have Objective One status at the moment and they are desperate to spend the money - especially on tradional Cornish things like boat building etc.
On a social level have met a few - Still using nice wooden line rulers.
Regards
Jonathan Stedman
Jaro
I reread my post and relize it is not as well phrased as it could be.
I was pointing out that in this newsgroup it occasionaly happens that rates are quoted for work required, and they are in US dollars for jobs, part time or full time or free lance in the US.
The rates, when converted to GB £ at approx $1.5 to £1 (as is my happy simple maths) would always get me depressed as they appear to me as unliveable - especially when in the States I beleive medical costs, insurance etc have to come from personal earnings.
I was trying to point out that in UK, although when we buy identical goods the price in £ is the same as the number in $ . ie $100 for product A costs £100 in UK for product A ---. We get ripped off. However I did not want David Bowles to get depressed as I have found that when charging for services we can do the same. When they talk about earning $10/hr as the going rate , a rule of thumb is that the equivalent job rate here is £10/hr. I have worked for US companies in the past but not for some time. Maybe that is why ;-) . This conversion only works within the UK. I could not work for a US company and expect to get the higher pay - not anymore; the English accent doesn't command a premium anymore. The US managers are highly driven by cost now and managers there will outsource to the cheapest place anything they can get away with, except of course their own jobs.
The UK has some other quirks - London rates of pay for freelance work are the norm for the whole country. ie - companies buying in design services do not expect to make savings by hiring consultants in cheaper parts of the country. The UK is a small island. But London is an expensive place and those working there have large overheads. Those working elsewhere do not , but don't have lower their prices as it is not expected. Its very difficult to increase your rate. Go in high and drop it if unsuccessful to just below the London rate.
The future - well I don't have a crystal ball - but the perhaps those in expensive countries doing medium to high tech jobs should not be too complacent. We can all be outsourced as communications get better and purchasers get braver in purchasing services from people from different cultures. We will need to do something that is either very unique and niche or something that requires an actual physical presence at the site where the cash changes hands - like a plumber.
One last bit of advice for David. If freelance, never perform miracles for free. If you do it once, the customer will expect you to do them time and time again for free. Have your schedule of 'deliverables' clear and up front and stick to it. Charge if things change and but be willing to reduce if the work required is less than expected. The British can be shy about talking about money, but it is always best to get this over and done with earlier rather than latter.
If a client is evasive about agreeing to deliverables being clearly stated then be very wary.
Just looked up - a long post - well I have the flu and can't face SW with the type of head I have at the moment.
Regards
Jonathan Stedman
David Welcome to the newsgroup. I to am based in the UK down in Brighton working for a local manufacturer as a Senior Mechanical Engineer and have been using Solidworks since 1997 for plastic component design and sheetmetal work. It might be an idea to add your company to the Solidworks Manufacturing Network, you cant beat a bit of free advertising. If I can be of any other help drop me a line. Regards Ken Carpenter
Had a couple of cups of coffee now and you really do have a smutty mind (and bad hearing)! I've done a few boats for down that way - The latest being the Berlewen, fishing from Padstow- the skipper is over the moon with the boat - apprently his last trip consisted of 10 days of continous force 8-10 with
I must reiterate my thanks to you all for all the good advice. I am heartened by all the good wishes, and cheered, (somewhat) by the humour! Thanks again and Regards David Bowles
Yeah.......ok.........so.......? Results are as inconclusive as the responses in the thread.
Hei David!! I am a engineer, and I also work in a engeneering deparment.... We are designing pressure vessels under ASME CODE... concretely I design the vessels, i don't make the calculations, but... if I can help you in some cuestion, I have not problem to help you.... about organization.... etc.... Best regards!!! My personal e-mail is snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.es :-)
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